Strange Fruit: Why Both Sides Are Wrong in the Race Debate by Kenan Malik

Readers of this newspaper will understand one of the reasons why Kenan Malik wrote this book. He begins with an account of the extraordinary interview given last year to The Sunday Times Magazine by James Watson, the co-discoverer of the DNA double helix. Professor Watson declared that he was gloomy about Africa because "all our social policies are based on the fact that their intelligence is the same as ours - whereas all the testing says, 'Not really' ". The Nobel prizewinner added that we shouldn't expect everyone to be equal because "people who have to deal with black employees find this is not so".

As a result of these remarks, Watson had to abandon the British lecture that the interview was designed to promote - London's Science Museum cancelled it - and he was forced to retire from the chancellorship of the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory.